New Super Rugby competition explained

Australian rugby's relationship with a running, ball-in-hand style of play is going through a complicated patch.

Sanzar-provided stats on the total metres run per game, as well as defenders beaten, throw up something that is surprising and a little uncomfortable. The Australian conference is closer to a largely uninspiring South African quintet this year than the New Zealanders.

Australian teams, on average, carry the ball 397.96 metres a game, South Africa 373.92m. For defenders beaten, the Australian average is 15.86 a game, and South Africa 14.98. The respective scores in those categories in the Kiwi conference is 444.32m and 19.04 defenders beaten.

Brumbies centre Pat McCabe on a barnstorming run. Photo: Getty Images

But it's not just the averages that tell a story. The Australian teams that make the fewest running metres, and beat the fewest defenders, are the Force and the Brumbies who, of course, are the best placed.

Advertisement

The Brumbies rank 12th overall for metres run, the Force 13th. For beating defenders, only the Lions and Bulls rank lower than the Brumbies, while the Force are 11th.

Staggeringly, as pointed out in an article by Kiwi journalist Richard Knowler this week, the Brumbies have run the ball 1.5 kilometres less than the Hurricanes' 4668m. It may be that Australia's best-performing sides simply do not believe a ball-in-hand style is the best way to win games.

There is a school of thought, of course, that the Brumbies have moved on from the shackles imposed by Jake White over the past few years (although the Sharks have more run metres than the Brumbies this year and winger/fullback Lwazi Mvovo – who is seventh for individual run metres – has gained more ground than any Australian back).

But they're an intelligent bunch in Canberra.

Rewind to the hour after the final whistle in last year's defeat to the Chiefs in the final. White and senior Brumbies players including Ben Mowen, Stephen Moore and Matt Toomua gave a series of remarkably composed, erudite interviews that made clear they were already processing the lessons from the loss and applying them to this year.

The rational conclusion from the defeat, and the one I think they arrived at, is they didn't need to do much differently, they just needed to do what they were doing more effciently and, crucially, for the whole game, not just 65 minutes.

That 80-minute message was rammed home by director of rugby Laurie Fisher in his half-time interview during the comprehensive victory over the Chiefs last Friday.

Pat McCabe's use as a distributor from set plays indicates how slick they have become in the right areas of the field, and they are third on the try-scoring list with 27. They are a punishing side in all senses. But while these upgrades have been built into the Brumbies' software, a lot of the coding still looks like White's.

It does not matter to Canberrans or Perth's Sea of Blue, or probably to you and I. Rugby's core audience can watch the Brumbies and Force and admire the technical excellence, defensive starch and clever captaincy. But the likes of us, the already converted, don't matter in rugby's struggle against the other codes.

''In the end we're in the entertainment business. Sport in Australia is a very important part of the Australian psyche. We're competing for the hearts and minds of the next generation of fans, the next generation of players, so that's a constant battle. The elite teams have got a big role to play, you've got to entertain, you've got to inspire. The business of inspiration is what we're in.''

That quote came from Ewen McKenzie, from a video grab this week previewing a profile in the Australian Financial Review Magazine on Friday.

McKenzie's role at the ARU is broader than just barking out instructions on the Wallabies' training field. One of the theories he brought with him from the Reds is that winning is not enough. That's setting the bar high, and in Super Rugby it's still a work in progress.

6 comments so far

I love reading that sort of stuff from McKenzie the bloke who told us he had been working on a plan for years to plot the All Blacks downfall. Then the players whom he was coaching told us they would out think the All Blacks - meaning a World Cup Winning side with a coach who has been working at international level with the best team in the world for many years and had learnt a lot of lessons coaching Wales was going to be out smarted by who? The one trick pony Ewan McKenzie. Now he says winning isn't enough - well in the case of the Wallabies Ewan winning is better than scraping home to 3rd in Rugby Championship and getting drubbed 3-0 in the Bledisloe.

Actually Ewan I don't think anyone would give a damn how you beat SA or NZ as long as you did it consistently - even once would be good in the case of the All Blacks - but I tell you what Ewan you keep making sure the Wallabies play entertaining rugby while we watch the much stronger pedigree of the All Blacks and Springboks do what they do best - whatever they believe they have to to win - winning IS entertainment Ewan. Losing may produce a game that entertains but who damn well cares if you lose and so far under you Ewan Australia's win record against the big two of world rugby is crap and England as well I might add. Get a grip Ewan and Australia and quite frankly grow up. Australia needs to get over its hang up on the so-called and neverending dribble about the Australian style (yawn) and running rugby. Its one of the reaons they are a v.poor wet weather side. Just WIN

Commenter

Saker

Location

Australia

Date and time

May 02, 2014, 1:11AM

What's with the Ewen bashing? He hasn't been there a year yet. Has played England once and lost and you question his record against England? This is a coach who has been pretty successful at Super Rugby level for a long time, has done time overseas, and has an interest in the sport as a whole. Its a bit rough to knock a bloke who's only ever tried to do the right thing for the game. I've never read or heard anything that Ewen has done to incite such vitriol. Maybe you need to "get a grip" and "grow up"?

Commenter

Brendan

Location

Townsville

Date and time

May 02, 2014, 2:38PM

Cully.... talking of stats and their interpretation I now find it strange this reference to the '60-65 minute' mark in Rugby games. This is time the coaches usually pull and replace certain players for the rest of the match. And it's usually the 'usual suspects' ie a prop, a halfback or a centre et al. I'm just wondering whether there's a mental switch that maybe inadvertently turned-off in the minds of some players ie there's only 15 to 20 mins to go. Most teams and their players don't appear to 'switch-off' but there have been times when you think... why did the coach make that substitution as the team now seems to have gone backwards. And, of course, there's always those catch-phrases.... 'it's game of 80 mins' or 'the game will be won or lost in the last 20.' Food for thought ?

Commenter

Machooka

Location

inner west sydney

Date and time

May 02, 2014, 9:02AM

You could also argue that the 65ish mark is when a team who is winning often starts to shut up shop.

No professional player is going to play in his own half with 15 minutes left and the lead.

While this is all very interesting, I don't care how my team wins - The Force's dreary battle of attrition against the Bulls was just as satisfying (if not more) as the mile a minute pace of the game against the Tahs.

Commenter

piru

Location

Perth via Rakaia

Date and time

May 02, 2014, 10:22AM

@ piru

Ahhhh... yes it's good to be a winner. The Force are now very much winners.... not just sometime winners. Enjoy your 'bye' this w'end.... and as to my enjoyment, geez I dunno, as my Tahs have some serious fish to fry. I feel a bad case of indigestion coming on !

Commenter

Machooka

Location

inner west sydney

Date and time

May 02, 2014, 2:54PM

Many "commentators" feeds the general public all kinds of strange myths. Like, Australian rugby is the light unto the world when it comes to running rugby.

But Paul, no one outside of Australia will be surprised by these stats - the Kiwi's have ALWAYS dominated in this area. The Australia view remains aspirational by comparison.